How To Design Your Therapy Office and Rental Tips
This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
You're ready. You finally decided to set-out on your own and open and design your own practice. It's exciting, scary, and the unknown is making you jittery and a little bit uneasy. Yet, you know it's the right thing to do as you've been wanting this for a very long time and imagined it in your head even before you started therapy school. I'm all too familiar with this dream and can relate as I have been there. But the realist in me also wants to help you make this beautiful transition without making the same mistakes that I did. And that's why I started this blog.
Therapists must consider their future neighbors and the decency of their new landlord when renting out and later designing their own space. Neighbors are extremely important and unprofessional ones can hinder your business and cost you a lot of revenue. Same with the landlord.
In this blog post we will discuss potential issues that you should address before leasing your own space and designing your own office. From the quality of your neighbors to having a legally binding lease in place with terms that are negotiated and confirmed, and that work for both parties before anything is signed. Make sure that you're being realistic about your revenue as a therapist and can actually afford to rent and design the office space that you've set your sights on. Small details are always imperative, so make sure to pay attention and address them before it's too late. You'll save yourself a lot of trouble and unnecessary headaches in the future. And finally, we will discuss how to design your virtual or your new and leased office space.
Let's get into it…….
The Quality of Your Landlord and Neighbors
Most of us would like to think that we are independent beings. However, this isn't the case at all, and entrepreneurs quickly realize how much they actually depend on their clients. At the end of the day, we are all interdependent in more ways than one. That's why when leasing a new work space, one must consider other people. Make an extra effort to go into the other offices nearby and talk to the other businesses. Bring cookies if you like as if you end up renting the space nearby, then you'll be neighbors and being kind is well worth it. Also, people are more likely to be honest and help you if they see that you're a decent person. So speak to everyone around and ask them for their experiences. Their feedback will speak volumes and will help you make a more informed and a more realistic assessment.
When I moved into my first therapist's office suite, some of the tenants (and the realtor) let us know that the property manager was good only if you were nice to her and one of the tenants had to contact an attorney because the landlord wasn't holding up their build-out timeline.
Also check out if the other spaces or offices in the building are being rented out or left vacant. If they have been vacant for too long, it may be a red flag.
As therapists we need a private, confidential space, so check out the noise situation. If you can hear every single word from the office next to or above, ask the landlord to implement some noise barriers.
Legally Binding Contract and Leasing Terms
Have a legally binding lease and keep a signed copy. It's there to protect the landlord and you. It can also be used to get mail to your office and is even needed for bank loans or other financial/tax matters. Get a lawyer or your own realtor to negotiate your lease terms.
In my experience, we had to refer to our lease many times over because of bad property management.
The lease the landlord gives you is to benefit them, not necessarily to protect you. Make sure that your interests are considered and protected too. You need someone looking out for your best interests and will help you go over:
what happens if something breaks
who's responsible
how quickly they need to make repairs
how much notice, or if any notice is given for them to enter your office
if you can sublet, and to whom
what their insurance covers, ect.
Everything is negotiable, even the price!
Consider Your Budget and Revenue and Plan Accordingly
It's very easy to get excited about a place that you really love while forgetting to be realistic and to consider the cost of the office space. Make sure you can afford it in the long run. If you think it will make your budget too tight, consider going in with another therapist or getting permission in your lease to sublet. You could even consider renting a day office in a therapist suite where you would be there every Monday and Tuesday, etc. Remember, at the end of the day this is a business, not a cool place to hang out. Renting something that's way out of your budget will leave you stressed out and will eventually cause more damage and trouble than it is worth.
Designing Your New Space
Whether you're thinking about designing for your virtual office, as everyone is going digital now, or if you would like to design your new leased office space, there are a lot of aspects that you should consider and implement in order to make your space as inviting and professional as possible. Our physical environment is highly important and impacts our sense of wellbeing and emotions.
According to Angela Wright, a prominent color psychologist, colors impact our unconsciousness and provoke a certain reaction/response. That's why when designing the perfect office one must consider colors. For example, it was discovered that juvenile delinquents that were kept in a room that was colored in pink bubble gum, were less violent, slept better, and were more cooperative.
So what should you focus on when designing your therapeutic space?
Room Layout - "room layout affects service user perceptions of psychological safety, intimacy, willingness to self-disclose, to build therapeutic rapport, and to feel a sense of agency in the space. Poor layouts in the therapeutic area can exacerbate feelings of otherness, mitigate development of agency, reduce communication, and have poor service user outcomes and experience," said Dr Stephanie Liddicoat-Ocampo, a researcher and architectural design academic from Australia.
Colors - focus on soothing colors that are light and airy. Shades of blue or green are perfect. Blue and green have been known to relax us while improving our concentration.
Seating - It is important to ensure that the seating area for therapist and service user is non confrontational and conducive to dialogue and supporting service user empowerment and agency in the space. It is also essential that chairs have ample back support, be adjustable or easily moved around, and be heavy enough not to be picked up in cases when a client may have a history of violence. It may also be beneficial to place the client's chair in a spot where they can see the door to add to their sense of free will and safety.
Natural Elements/Plants - It's no surprise that research suggests that having even a few small natural elements like plants or a green space to visit can benefit mental health. Just by looking at the color green or pictures of nature, people have reported feeling more relaxed and positive. Remember though, balance is everything so make sure not to turn your office into a rainforest. :)
Materials - Focus on wood but make sure not to have wooden materials, such as walls and floors, take up more than 45% of the surface of a room. Research isn't too clear on this, but people do tend to prefer wooden materials rather than glass or chrome. But covering more than 45% of the surface in wood tends to lose its de-stressing effect.
Windows - Let plenty of sunshine and fresh air in by opening the windows whenever possible. Exposure to sunshine and fresh air increases endorphins and de-stresses. On top of that, sunshine triggers certain chemicals that help us sleep better at night.
Privacy - Ensure that your conversations are not heard by anyone outside the room. Entrances and exits must also be as private as possible to make clients feel protected.
Age-Appropriate Furniture - If families, children, or the elderly are among the clients, it is essential to provide chairs or couches that are comfortable for all. If desks are used during sessions, round tables may facilitate more interactive communication.
Soft Furnishings - Using soft furnishings and flooring materials (like rugs or carpets) provides a soothing feel to a room and creates a sense of comfort. See one of our articles on Hygge.
Personal Items - Avoid personal elements, such as small mementos or the therapist's credentials, which can be reassuring to the client. However, it is best to keep personalization to a minimum, to help the client feel "at home" within the space, and not like a visitor.
What to Avoid When Designing a Space?
Closed in Spaces - avoid hard surfaces and no windows. Rooms like these can feel like a prison that the client is not only uncomfortable in but can start feeling like they are locked-in and unable to escape.
Potential Triggers - art work is always subjective, so what you might find alluring to one of your clients might find triggering and depressive. Be careful with artwork. Artwork might inadvertently depict sadness, depression, and death.
Clutter - keep your space neat and tidy. Cluttered spaces can bring on a sense of disorganization and might contribute to a lack of concentration and feelings of unease.
Fixed seating - make sure that you have adjustable seating and make sure that your own seat isn't too high in comparison to your client's or made out of better materials. This can send an unconscious signal that you're superior to your client and set you off to a terrible start with your client.
Virtual Office
Virtual offices are obviously simpler and don't need as much work. All you need is a distraction free/light and airy background that will make the client feel safe and that will put them at ease. Make sure that your virtual office is suitable for you and keep your office orderly, clean, and comfortable. Have some green plants on your desk and make sure that your room is noise-free when you're hosting clients. Any background noise can be off putting and can come off as unprofessional. Also, your client will automatically not trust you because they will feel like there are others that are listening.
In Conclusion
To conclude, leasing a new office and designing it can be exciting and empowering.
However, never get too attached to your emotions and lease without considering the decency of your new landlord and nearby tenants.
Don't forget to ensure that you've got a legally binding contract that is beneficial to all parties involved.
And make sure that you're being realistic with yourself about your salary and how much you can afford to spend on the place that you're trying to rent.
And finally, designing a therapeutic place isn't that simple, so you must consider colors, the right furniture, the openness of the room, textures, and adding plants to the space. The right design isn't just for you; it's for your client's too. So try to make them feel protected, calm, encouraged, and free to express themselves. Your design can either make you or break you. Especially if you're designing a physical space that your clients will be visiting.
Virtual offices are a little bit simpler to design and the space that you’re designing is more focused on you and your own comfort. Just be sure to have a relaxing and inviting background that uses the right combination of colors and materials.
More Private Practice Resources
I put together a list of all the best tools, websites and products I’ve used to build my mental health private practice. And I update it regularly! You can see the full list here.